From democracy to authoritarianism

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance has come to a disappointing conclusion – all over the world democracy is inexorably collapsing.

This is stated in the published report, according to which more and more countries are moving towards authoritarianism. This is typical not only for vulnerable and young states, but also for long-established states, such as the United States or India. Kevin Casas-Zamora, general secretary of the institute, said that overall things are going well in Europe. He especially noted Slovenia and Moldova, which have been able to achieve significant success in recent times.

However, 17 countries, almost half of all democracies on the European continent, have changed in the last 5 years. Looking at the big picture, democratic standards in Europe tend to plateau: progress is still possible, but not always achievable. As a result, a frustrated society, or at least a part of it, will look for other ways to live up to its expectations.

This dissatisfaction is manifested in overly rigid political views, which sometimes make part of the population scapegoats, and include, in particular, the ideas of far-right parties. Kevin Casas-Zamora, General Secretary of the IDEA Institute and former Vice President of Costa Rica, calls for the defense of what constitutes a democratic society – fair elections, a free press, checks and balances.

He believes that society should expand and renew democracy through initiatives such as collective exchange or youth activism. The report cites many examples of societal resilience when democracy is absent or under threat: Iranian women are fighting against a theocratic regime, Ukrainians are resisting Russian aggression, and Chinese are protesting against the government’s “zero covid” policy.

The authors of the report call for the need to remain vigilant, as democracy in the world is still fragile and is no better off than in 1990.

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